Cacotype

Managing expectations

2009-02-19T08:53:00.022-05:00

The space between what you want, and what you have, is not a fun place to hang out. Guys like Heine and Musset made some good poetry out of it, but I avoid spending a lot of time there.

As we head into what will probably be a lengthy depression, it would be a good idea for members of my generation to lower their expectations. Instead of trying to have the lifestyle enjoyed by middle class baby boomers, I think it makes sense to look to my grandparents' standard of living, which I've tried to quantify below. What I've outlined below aren't minimum requirements, but rather my highest hopes:

1. You will likely be self employed, and your earnings will be modest. There will be no early retirement, nor will there be a pension plan.
Despite the fact that he worked worked 12 to 14 hours a day, seven days a week for most of his life, I never once remember hearing my grandfather complain about his lot. I believe he considered himself fortunate to be his own boss, and not have to rely on someone else for his income. He retired at 70 and died at 80. This seems like a more reasonable retirement plan than "Freedom 55".

2. You will only operate one car, and you will make it last. It will be used sparingly and will serve as a tool, not a status symbol.
They drove one car, always bought used, and typically made it last at least 10 years. They went to town once a week, and planned their trip in advance, keeping a list of the things they needed and the errands they needed to run.

3. You will live in a small house or apartment. It is shelter from the elements, not an investment. If you renovate, the work should be done for a reason, not for aesthetics.
My grandparents' house was about 1500 square feet, and it was the only one they ever owned. They rented a place that used to be a chicken coop before that. I think the idea of a "starter home" would have been laughable to them. The only renovations I can remember were insulating and finishing the attic, which was turned into a third bedroom, and screening in the front porch so that they could enjoy the cool night air without being bothered by mosquitoes.

4. You will not travel far from home. If you're lucky enough to have them, your holidays will be short and inexpensive.
Apart from my grandfather's government sponsored trip through northern Europe, they only travelled overseas once. In particularly good years, they would close shop and the family would rent a cottage for a week. Trips almost always involved visiting, and staying with, family or friends.

5. You will have a large garden, and you will preserve some of the food you grow.
Because they did not travel far, and since their home was also their place of business, there was plenty of time to tend to a large garden plot. They had a couple fruit trees, strawberries, raspberries, and grew most of their own vegetables. On summer nights, people would often stop by and help with canning or freezing.

Despite the fact they had considerably less money, I looked forward visiting them, and enjoyed taking part in the work that made up their daily lives. I experienced the sort of satisfaction that Eric Brende describes in Better Off. I believe my grandparents were happier, and certainly had more friends, than my parents ever did. That's the sort of wealth to which I now aspire.

Don't try

2009-02-18T22:47:00.000-05:00

I used to eat my lunch in an windowless office. I'd open my plastic container, take out a sandwich, hunch over my beige, melamine desk and say to myself, "If only I could get out of here and write for a living. I don't want to sell people things. I don't want to talk to them on the phone. Just give me the words. I can force myself to work with the words."

In time I found a way out, and I was right. I can do the research, digest it, then crap out the mental turds. I squeeze them out on deadline, 500 words here, 1200 there. The paycheques are decent, and I don't have to interact with other humans very often.

But after a decade I've become as boring as my subject. I've forgotten what it's like to write for pleasure. So despite Buk's advice, I'm going to try - try to recapture some of the enthusiasm I once felt for writing, and for life in general.

I'll avoid anything to do with work in this blog, and focus on what I like, and what I think matters. We'll see how it goes.

Introduction

2009-02-18T22:29:00.001-05:00

"In this way I shall preserve many things that would otherwise be lost in oblivion. I shall find daily employment for myself, which will save me from indolence and help to keep off the spleen, and I shall lay up a store of entertainment for my after life. Very often, we have more pleasure in reflecting on agreeable scenes that we have been in than we had from the scenes themselves. I shall regularly record the business or rather the pleasure of every day. I shall not study much correctness, lest the labour of it should make me lay it aside altogether."

- James Boswell's first diary entry,
Monday, 15 November, 1762